The top stocks to watch today (Monday, May 1) are Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF), Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR), and Tribune Media Co. (NYSE: TRCO).
Congress has agreed on a budget that will fund the government until Sept. 30, when the 2018 fiscal year budget is due. The budget deal still has to be approved by the House and the Senate but is expected to pass with bipartisan support, preventing a government shutdown.
Personal income and spending, U.S. manufacturing, and ISM manufacturing reports will all be released this morning. In February, personal income rose 0.4%, which was a slowdown of 0.1% from the previous month.
Now that we know what's moving markets, here are the three top stocks to watch today...
Top Stocks to Watch Today: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF)
Cliffs stock is up 3.6% in early morning trading as the company celebrates 170 years in mining.
The iron ore mining company will ring the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange today in celebration of its 170 years in operation.
Over the weekend, the company received investments from several hedge funds. Alpha Windward LLC invested roughly $341,000, Searle & Co. invested $1.326 million, and Luminus Management LLC bought a $9.547 million stake.
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CLF stock is currently trading at $6.72 for a loss of 20.1% so far this year.
Top Stocks to Watch Today: Twitter Inc. (TWTR)
Twitter stock is up 4% in early morning trading after announcing its partnership with Bloomberg Media.
The partnership will result in the social media platform having round-the-clock streaming of television news. As of right now, the channel has not been named, but it is expected to launch this fall.
The news channel is an effort for Twitter to regain subscriber growth after it has stalled the last few quarters.
TWTR stock is trading at $16.48 for a gain of 1.1% year to date (YTD).
Top Stocks to Watch Today: Tribune Media Co. (NYSE: TRCO)
Tribune Media stock is up 7.4% in early morning trading after a joint bid for the company was launched.
Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (Nasdaq: FOXA) and Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) are teaming up to launch a takeover bid of Tribune Media. The offer would be competing with a Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) bid that is reportedly in the high $30s per share.
TRCO is currently trading at $36.56 for a gain of 4.5% YTD.
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